Spriggs suffered a dislocated knee cap on the first play from scrimmage against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday night but he didn’t tear the patellar tendon, which means no surgery is necessary.

There’s a good chance that Spriggs could be ready for the start of training camp.

Spriggs had taken over for starter Bryan Bulaga, who tore his right ACL on Nov. 6 against Detroit. Bulaga’s recovery time is expected to be much longer and there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to start next season.

Packers 2018 opponents set

The Packers are guaranteed to finish in third place in the NFC North, regardless of Sunday’s outcome against the Detroit Lions. That means the Packers know who they’ll have on their schedule, both home and away next season.

Aside from divisional matchups, the Packers will face 2018 home games against Arizona, San Francisco, Buffalo, Miami and Atlanta. On the road, the Packers will square off against the L.A. Rams, Seattle, New England, New York Jets and Washington.

The Green Bay Packers placed second-year offensive tackle Jason Spriggs on injured reserve on Tuesday because of a knee injury that he suffered on the first play from scrimmage in last Saturday night’s 16-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy told reporters on Sunday that Spriggs had suffered a series injury. Spriggs had taken over at right tackle after the Packers lost Bryan Bulaga for the season with injury.

With a roster spot available and another injury to tight end Richard Rodgers on Saturday’s game, the Packers signed rookie tight end Emanuel Byrd to their 53-man roster by calling him up from their practice squad.

Byrd is expected to back up Lance Kendricks on Sunday’s season finale against the Lions in Detroit.

The Green Bay Packers sent yet another offensive tackle to Injured Reserve on Tuesday, joining Don Barclay and Jason Spriggs. Kyle Murphy, who started the opener against Seattle at right tackle and then the next two games at left tackle, suffered a foot injury in Sunday’s win over the Bengals.

Murphy was in the locker room on Tuesday, wearing a protective boot and using a knee scooter. He could return after eight weeks, but the Packers can only bring back two players by NFL Rule.

The Packers host the Chicago Bears on Thursday night and Mike McCarthy doesn’t know who his starters will be. Both David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga practiced on a limited basis on Tuesday. The two players started all 19 games together last season but have yet to do so this year.

It is possible both Bakhtiari and Bulaga could return against the Bears, but the question would then be, can they finish. And if they can’t play all or a portion of the game, who would take over? [Read more…]

With Mike Daniels sidelined by a hip injury in Atlanta, the Green Bay Packers resigned veteran Ricky Jean Francois. The Packers had released Jean Francois when they needed depth on their offensive line a week earlier.

Daniels hasn’t practiced all week and isn’t expected to play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jean Francois was on a plane to Dallas when the Packers called him back. He returned to Lambeau Field and signed a contract on Thursday.

To make room on the roster, the Packers placed tackle Jason Spriggs on injured reserve. Spriggs has been out since suffering a hamstring injury in week one against Seattle.

Spriggs must sit a minimum of eight weeks but would be eligible to return of the Packers decide to make that move.

Offensive tackle update

Right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who has missed the first two games of the season, has practiced both days this week and would appear set to return to the lineup against the Bengals on Sunday.

Left tackle David Bakhtiari missed both workouts on Wednesday and Thursday, making it less likely that he would return to the starting lineup on Sunday.

After missing two days with the flu, Bryan Bulaga returned to work on Friday for the Green Bay Packers as they continue to prepare for Sunday nights game against the Atlanta Falcons at new Mercedes Benz Stadium.

The flu is now behind Bulaga, but his sore right ankle remains. Bulaga didn’t have full practices this week to determine just where he is with his ankle. He’s in jeopardy of missing his second straight game after sitting out the opener against Seattle as well.

Bulaga was listed as questionable on the teams injury report on Friday. So was left tackle David Bakhtiari, who is dealing with a hamstring injury.

Backup tackle Jason Spriggs has been ruled out of Sunday’s game (hamstring) and outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks is doubtful (concussion protocol).

The Green Bay Packers may not know until today at the earliest, whether or not right tackle Bryan Bulaga be able to play on Sunday against the Falcons in Atlanta.

Bulaga was sent home for the second straight day due to a flu like illness. The Packers are trying to keep Bulaga away so the rest of the players don’t get sick as well. The Packers only padded practice of the week was Thursday, so Bulaga missed out on the day of preparation.

There’s a possibility that Bulaga’s ankle could be ready, yet he could be sidelined by the flu bug.

If Bulaga can’t go, Kyle Murphy would make his second straight start in his place at right tackle.

Left tackle David Bakhtiari was listed as a limited participant in practice both Wednesday and Thursday because of a hamstring injury. His backup Jason Spriggs is sidelined by a hamstring injury and is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks.

The Green Bay Packers are heading into Sunday’s showdown with the Atlanta Falcons with some health issues at offensive tackle.

Right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who missed the opener last week with a sprained right ankle, was sent home with an illness on Wednesday. Not known is whether or not Bulaga would have practiced had he not been ill. If Bulaga isn’t ready to play on Sunday, Kyle Murphy will make his second straight start in his place.

Starting left tackle David Bakhtiari was listed as a limited participant in practice because of a hamstring injury. His backup on the left side, Jason Spriggs suffered a hamstring injury against Seattle and Mike McCarthy said Spriggs would miss at least a couple of weeks.

The Packers signed Adam Pankey from the practice squad this week to add some depth.

Gunter signs with Carolina

It didn’t take LaDarius Gunter long to find another team after the Packers released him on Tuesday. Gunter was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers.

Gunter finished last season as the Packers top corner and led all corners in total snaps.

The game was dominated by defense early, but the Green Bay Packers eventually wore Seattle down and knocked off the Seahawks 17-9 in the season opener at Lambeau Field.

The Packers had a nearly 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession (39:13 to 20:47) as they closed out the victory in the final quarter.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers started show and tossed an interception in the first half, ending a streak of 251 straight passes without one, which was a career high. Rodgers would finish by completing 28 of 42 for 311 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

His only scoring strike came when the Seahawks were late getting a 12th player off the field and as usual, the Packers took advantage. Rodgers looked to the sideline, saw the flag come out and then found Jordy Nelson down the middle for a 32 yard scoring strike.

Earlier in the game, Nelson became the fourth receiver in Packers franchise history to reach 500 career receptions. He joined the elite company of Donald Driver, Sterling Sharpe and James Lofton. [Read more…]

Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy ruled right tackle Bryan Bulaga out of Saturday’s third preseason game against the Broncos in Denver. Bulaga limped off the practice field on Wednesday with an ankle injury and said he’s focusing on being ready to play in the regular season opener against Seattle on September 10.

Bulaga said X-rays were negative but he was still waiting for results from an MRI to see if there’s any further damage.

At this point, Bulaga said he’s not overly concerned about the ankle, despite not having the MRI results available.

Without Bulaga in the lineup against Denver on Saturday night, Mike McCarthy has to decide how much he wants to expose Aaron Rodgers. The Packers options behind Bulaga are a pair of second year players, Kyle Murphy and Jason Spriggs.

Spriggs is the more experienced of the two by far. He played 276 snaps last season, but only 29 of those came at the right tackle position.

Murphy was first in at right tackle in practice on Wednesday, after Bulaga went down, so it could be his job out of the gates against the Broncos.

The first unit usually plays a significant amount of time in the third preseason game and then not at all in the final game, so the timing of the injury isn’t good. But it also gives Murphy or Spriggs or both, an opportunity to see what they can do with the first unit.